Publication date set for the 2nd coming of Laudato si

 

"Let Justice and Peace Flow" 

CHURCH

• POPE FRANCIS
• ENVIRONMENT
• LAUDATO SI
• GENERAL AUDIENCE
• SEASON OF CREATION

Pope Francis: Second Laudato si' to be published on 4 October

Pope Francis looks ahead to the Season of Creation, which begins on 1 September with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and concludes on the feast of St Francis of Assisi, 4 October, and announces the publication of his eagerly awaited follow-up to "Laudato si'."

By Vatican News

Pope Francis’ appeal from the Paul VI Hall on Wednesday looked ahead to the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, which takes place each year on 1 September. The theme of this year’s observance is “Let Justice and Peace Flow.”

The Pope recalled that this day marks the beginning of the Season of Creation that will last until 4 October, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

As he had announced on 21 August when he received a delegation of lawyers from member countries of the Council of Europe, the Pope revealed that the second part of his encyclical Laudato si' will be published on 4 October.

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30/08/2023

Pope Francis: Second Laudato si' to be published on 4 October

Siding with the victims of environmental injustice

“On that date, I plan on publishing an exhortation, a second Laudato si',” the Pope said. “Let us join our Christian brothers and sisters in the commitment to care for creation as a sacred gift from the Creator.”

The Pope’s remarks on Wednesday summarized the core of his Message for the World Day, which was made public in May:

“It is necessary to stand with the victims of environmental and climate injustice, striving to end the senseless war on our common home which is a terrible world war. I urge all of you to work and pray for it to abound with life once again.”

Transforming public policy

In the Message, the Pope says we must resolve “to transform our hearts, our lifestyles, and the public policies ruling our societies.”

He also returned to the topic of ecological conversion and the need to no longer consider creation as an object to be exploited, but as a reality to be safeguarded “as a sacred gift from our Creator.”

The Pope's message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation insisted on the need to “transform the public policies that govern our societies and shape the lives of young people today and tomorrow.”

Pope Francis emphasized the importance of synodality and expressed his hopes that “in this Season of Creation, as followers of Christ on our shared synodal journey, we may live, work, and pray so that our common home will teem with life once again.”

Wednesday General Audience with Pope Francis

 

Pope Francis holds his weekly General Audience at the Vatican 

POPE

• GENERAL AUDIENCE
• POPE FRANCIS
• CATECHESIS
• SAINTS AND BLESSED

Pope at Audience: St. Káteri Tekakwitha shows ordinary acts can achieve great holiness

During his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Francis praises the apostolic zeal of Saint Káteri Tekakwitha, first Native American saint of North America, saying her faith began in her family, her sufferings drew her to the Cross, and her ordinary, holy actions offer a powerful example.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

Quiet, everyday actions can manifest great holiness.

Pope Francis said this as he praised Saint Káteri Tekakwitha, the first Native American saint of North America, during his General Audience on Wednesday in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.

The Pope was continuing his series of catecheses on apostolic zeal, and how men and women's holy witnessing to the Gospel across the world can spread the Christian faith.

Faith in the family

Reflecting on the saint, the Pope noted that Káteri, born in upstate New York, was the daughter of a Mohawk chief and an Algonquin Christian mother, who taught her to pray and sing hymns to God.

"Many of us have also been introduced to the Lord for the first time in the family, especially by our mothers and grandmothers," the Pope said.

He noted that evangelisation often begins like this, "with simple, small gestures, like parents helping their children to learn to talk to God in prayer and telling them of his great and merciful love."

Káteri's faith foundations, and many of ours, the Pope observed, were laid in this way.

Sufferings inspired her love for the Cross

Scarred by smallpox at an early age, he said, "her sufferings drew her to a great love of the Cross" and "a close identification with Christ in His redemptive love for humanity." 

The Pope recalled her suffering, as well as her convictions and faith.

"When we encounter difficulties in living and proclaiming the Gospel," the Pope said, "we may be tempted to become discouraged, to take refuge in our certainties or to close ourselves off in small groups that think like us."

"The life of Káteri Tekakwitha," he said, however, "shows us that every challenge can be overcome if we open our hearts to Jesus, who grants us the grace we need to continue on the path of Christian life with faithfulness and perseverance."

Deep piety and prayer

"Her deep piety and prayer, marked by devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Rosary and acts of penance," he said, "was accompanied by charitable concern for the elderly and the sick, and for the instruction of children in the faith."

Káteri's life, the Holy Father said, is a "further testimony to the fact that apostolic zeal implies both a vital union with Jesus, nourished by prayer and the Sacraments, and the desire to spread the beauty of the Christian message through fidelity to one's particular vocation."

Although she was encouraged to marry, Káteri wanted instead to dedicate her life completely to Christ. Unable to enter consecrated life, she took a vow of perpetual virginity on 25 March 1679, the Solemnity of the Annunciation.

"Her choice," he said, "reveals another aspect of apostolic zeal: total dedication to the Lord."

Silent joy, openness to the Lord

"In Káteri Tekakwitha," the Holy Father said, "we meet a woman who bore witness to the Gospel, not so much with great works, because she never founded a religious community or any educational or charitable institution, but with the silent joy and freedom of a life open to the Lord and to others."

Even in the days leading up to her death at the age of 24, on 17 April 1680, he acknowledged that Káteri fulfilled her vocation "in simplicity, loving and praising God and teaching those with whom she lived to do the same. Her last words were: 'Jesus, I love you.'"

Ordinary actions with great faith

"Let us, too, by drawing strength from the Lord, as St Káteri Tekakwitha did," the Pope said, "learn to perform ordinary actions in an extraordinary way, and thus grow each day in faith, charity, and zealous witness to Christ."

The Pope praised her great witness, lived out even in what could seem small acts.

Saint Káteri Tekakwitha’s example, the Holy Father said, shows us the power of the Gospel to bear rich fruit in a holiness expressed in quiet, everyday actions that nonetheless have the power to transform our world.

Wednesday Saint of the Day

 

St. Jeanne Jugan

Feastday: August 30
Patron: of the destitute elderly
Birth: October 25, 1792
Death: August 29, 1879
Beatified: Pope John Paul II on October 3, 1982
Canonized: Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009

St. Jeanne Jugan, also known as Sister Mary of the Cross, L.S.P. was born on October 25, 1792 in the French region of Brittany during the French Revolution.

Jeanne grew up as the sixth of eight children to Joseph and Marie Jugan surrounded by a lot of religious and political upheavals. Her father became lost at sea when Jeanne was just four-years-old, and her mother struggled to provide for all the Jugan children.

Her mother worked diligently to make sure her children had everything they needed, including secret religious instruction when anti-Catholic persecutions were taking place.

From a young age, Jeanne learned to knit and spin wool and became a shepherdess. Barely able to read or write, Jeanne took a job as a kitchen maid for a noble family when she was 16.

Jeanne accompanied the Viscountess de la Choue when she visited the poor and the sick. As she matured, Jeanne began finding her passion in working with these people and turned down multiple marriage proposals. She told her mother God had other plans for her.

At 25, Jeanne became an Associate of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, which was founded by St. John Eudes. She spent her time praying and working as a nurse in the town hospital. She stayed at the hospital for many years until her own health issues prevented her from performing her physically demanding tasks.

After leaving her job at the hospital, Jeanne became the servant of a member of the Eudist Third Order for 12 years. While working as a servant, Jeanne and her master found the same Catholic faith in each other and set out to begin teaching catechism to the town's children and caring for the poor.

In 1837, Jeanna and Francoise Aubert rented part of a small cottage and were joined by a 17-year-old orphan, Virgine Tredaniel. Together, they formed a small community of prayer devoted to helping the poor and teaching the catechism.

Two years later, Jeanne was approached by an elderly, blind and partially paralyzed woman named Anne Chauvin. With no one there for the woman, Jeanne carried her to her apartment and took it upon herself to begin caring for her. She let Anne have her bed and Jeanne slept in the attic.

A short time later, Jeanne took in two more old women in need of help and by 1841, she rented another space to house a dozen of elderly people. The next year, she attained an open convent and housed 40 more people.

With approval from her peers, Jeanne began focusing her attention on her new mission - assisting abandoned elderly women. This marked the beginning of the religious congregation known now as The Little Sisters of the Poor.

Jeanne constructed a simple Rule of Life for her new community of women. Each day they went around town requesting food, clothing and money for those in their care. Jeanne's carried on with her new life's work for the next four decades of her life.

More young women started to hear about Jeanne's mission and joined her. Through begging on the streets, Jeanne was able to open four more homes for her needy within those 10 years. By 1850, over 100 women had joined the congregation.

Jeanne was soon forced out of the leadership role, though. The local bishop appointed Abbe Auguste Le Pailleur as Superior General of the congregation. Jeanne was assigned to strictly begging on the streets until she was sent to retire in a life of obscurity for her final 27 years of life.

After The Little Sisters of the Poor communities began expanding throughout France, their work spread to England in 1851 and the United States founded five of their own communities from 1866 to 1871.

By 1879, Jeanne's community had over 2,400 Little Sisters. On March 1, 1879, Pope Leo XIII approved the Constitution for the congregation for seven years.

At the time of Jeanne's death, on August 29, 1879, most of the Little Sisters had no idea Jeanne was the real founder of the congregation. However, Le Pailleur was investigated and dismissed in 1890 and Jeanne became acknowledged once again as the foundress.

St. Jeanne Jugan passed away at the age of 86. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II on October 3, 1982 and canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009.

During her canonization Pope Benedict XVI expressed, "In the Beatitudes, Jeanne Jugan found the source of the spirit of hospitality and fraternal love, founded on unlimited trust in Providence, which illuminated her whole life."

She is the patron saint of the destitute elderly and her feast day is celebrated on August 30.

Continue reading about St. Jeanne Jugan

No surprise: Biden reelection campaign promises to be extremely radical pro-abortion

 

Biden campaign launches pro-abortion ad; pro-life groups label it ‘extreme’

By Tyler Arnold

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 28, 2023 / 15:15 pm

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign launched a new pro-abortion ad in several swing states, which some pro-life groups are calling extreme. 

The ad, called “These Guys,” launched Friday and will run for two weeks in seven key states. It targets six states that Biden narrowly won in 2020: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Wisconsin. It also targets one state that former President Donald Trump narrowly won in 2020: North Carolina.

“Reproductive health care decisions are among the most personal a woman will ever make,” the ad begins. “They are choices that should be made by you and your doctor.”

As the advertisement continues, it quotes statements from Republican candidates for president on the issue of abortion, stating that “the last people who should be involved are these guys.”

The video ad quotes Trump saying “I’m the one that got rid of Roe v. Wade” and then discusses Gov. Ron DeSantis signing a six-week abortion ban in Florida. It then pans to a presidential primary debate answer in which DeSantis says, “I believe in a culture of life.” It goes on to quote Sen. Tim Scott saying, “If I were president of the United States, I would literally sign the most conservative pro-life legislation that they can get through Congress.”

Another quote referenced Trump’s 2016 comments in which he said there should be “some form of punishment” for a woman who has an abortion. The former president walked back those comments after making them. 

The ad references the Biden administration’s efforts to codify Roe v. Wade into federal law, which would prevent states from restricting abortion before viability. This occurs around 24 weeks of pregnancy. It also states that the Biden administration opposes a federal ban on abortion.

“As long as [Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris] are in office, decisions about your body will be made by you; not by them,” the ad finishes. 

The ad is already receiving criticism from pro-life organizations who are labeling Biden’s abortion policies as extreme. 

“Joe Biden is the most pro-abortion president in the history of our nation, and this ad shows just how extreme he is,” Laura Echevarria, a spokesperson for National Right to Life, told CNA. “The issue of abortion is behind many of the policies enacted by the Biden White House — policies based on Joe Biden’s demand for a ‘whole-of-government’ approach to promote and protect unlimited abortion.”

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser issued a statement that similarly accused Biden of “extremism,” noting that the advertisement fails to advocate for any limits on abortion, even late-term abortions. 

“Biden used to embrace commonsense limits on abortion based on science,” Dannenfelser said. “Now he and his party are fully in lockstep with the radical abortion lobby position of abortion on demand any time for any reason, paid for by the taxpayer. Today’s Democrats even block protections for babies born alive in failed abortions, knowing their media allies will run cover. That is unacceptable. Everyone should be asking where the Democrats draw the line — is it 38, 39 weeks? Americans deserve to know where all candidates stand.”

The Biden administration has consistently supported policies to expand abortion in the United States. The president signed executive orders that directed federal agencies to consider actions that would expand access to abortion, and the Department of Veterans Affairs changed its policies to expand abortion access for veterans and their family members. He also signed an order to provide funding for organizations that promote abortion overseas, worked with state leaders to expand abortion, and supported legislation to block state-level pro-life laws.

Only a few Republican presidential candidates have committed to a 15-week federal abortion ban, such as Scott and former Vice President Mike Pence. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has said she would sign a 15-week ban but that her focus will be on legislation that Americans have consensus on.

Neither Trump nor DeSantis have committed to 15-week bans. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum have labeled abortion as a state issue rather than a federal one.

The Pope claims "some" U.S. Catholics suffer from "backwardness", replacing faith with ideology

 

Pope says some ‘backward’ conservatives in US Catholic Church have replaced faith with ideology

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church, saying they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.

Francis’ comments were an acknowledgment of the divisions in the U.S. Catholic Church, which has been split between progressives and conservatives who long found support in the doctrinaire papacies of St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI, particularly on issues of abortion and same-sex marriage.

Many conservatives have blasted Francis’ emphasis instead on social justice issues such as the environment and the poor, while also branding as heretical his opening to letting divorced and civilly remarried Catholics receive the sacraments.

Francis made the comments in a private meeting with Portuguese members of his Jesuit religious order while visiting Lisbon on Aug. 5; the Jesuit journal La Civilta Cattolica, which is vetted by the Vatican secretariat of state, published a transcript of the encounter Monday.

During the meeting, a Portuguese Jesuit told Francis that he had suffered during a recent sabbatical year in the United States because he came across many Catholics, including some U.S. bishops, who criticized Francis’ 10-year papacy as well as today’s Jesuits.

The 86-year-old Argentine acknowledged his point, saying there was “a very strong, organized, reactionary attitude” in the U.S. church, which he called “backward.” He warned that such an attitude leads to a climate of closure, which was erroneous.

“Doing this, you lose the true tradition and you turn to ideologies to have support. In other words, ideologies replace faith,” he said.

“The vision of the doctrine of the church as a monolith is wrong,” he added. “When you go backward, you make something closed off, disconnected from the roots of the church,” which then has devastating effects on morality.

“I want to remind these people that backwardness is useless, and they must understand that there’s a correct evolution in the understanding of questions of faith and morals,” that allows for doctrine to progress and consolidate over time.

Francis has previously acknowledged the criticism directed at him from some U.S. conservatives, once quipping that it was an “honor” to be attacked by Americans.

The Memorial of the Passion (Martyrdom) of St. John the Baptist

 

Ordinary Time: August 29th

Memorial of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist

     

MASS READINGS

August 29, 2012 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who willed that Saint John the Baptist should go ahead of your Son both in his birth and in his death, grant that, as he died a Martyr for truth and justice, we, too, may fight hard for the confession of what you teach. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

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The Church, having celebrated the earthly birthday of St. John the Baptist on June 24, today honors the anniversary of his martyrdom. Besides our Lord and our Lady, St. John the Baptist is the only one whose birth and death are thus celebrated. Today's Gospel relates the circumstances of his execution. He had the courage to blame Herod to his face for the scandal of his illegal union with his sister-in-law Herodias, whose husband was still alive. Herodias contrived to make Herod imprison him and took advantage of an unexpected opportunity to obtain through her daughter Salome the beheading of the saint.

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Passion of John the Baptist
In addition to the feast of the nativity of St. John the Baptist (June 24), the Church, since the fourth century, commemorates the martyrdom of Christ's precursor. According to the Roman Martyrology, this day marks "the second finding of his most venerable head." The body of the saint was buried in Samaria. In the year 362 pagans desecrated the grave and burned his remains. Only a small portion of his relics were able to be saved by monks and sent to St. Athanasius at Alexandria. The head of the saint is venerated at various places. That in the Church of St. Sylvester in Rome belongs to a martyr-priest John. Also in the Dominican church at Breslau the Baptist's head is honored.
—Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

There is no doubt that blessed John suffered imprisonment and chains as a witness to our Redeemer, whose forerunner he was, and gave his life for him. His persecutor had demanded not that he should deny Christ, but only that he should keep silent about the truth. Nevertheless, he died for Christ. Does Christ not say: "I am the truth"? Therefore, because John shed his blood for the truth, he surely died for Christ.

Through his birth, preaching and baptizing, he bore witness to the coming birth, preaching and baptism of Christ, and by his own suffering he showed that Christ also would suffer.

Such was the quality and strength of the man who accepted the end of this present life by shedding his blood after the long imprisonment. He preached the freedom of heavenly peace, yet was thrown into irons by ungodly men. He was locked away in the darkness of prison, though he came bearing witness to the Light of life and deserved to be called a bright and shining lamp by that Light itself, which is Christ.

To endure temporal agonies for the sake of the truth was not a heavy burden for such men as John; rather it was easily borne and even desirable, for he knew eternal joy would be his reward.

Since death was ever near at hand, such men considered it a blessing to embrace it and thus gain the reward of eternal life by acknowledging Christ's name. Hence the apostle Paul rightly says: "You have been granted the privilege not only to believe in Christ but also to suffer for his sake." He tells us why it is Christ's gift that his chosen ones should suffer for him: "The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us."
—Saint Bede the Venerable

Tuesday Saint of the Day

 

St. Sabina

St. Sabina's feast day is August 29th. We know St. Sabina only through legend, and there is some question as to it's trustworthiness. Even the century in which she lived is unknown. Supposedly Sabina was converted to Christianity by her Syrian servant Serapia. During the persecution of Emperor Hadrian, Serapia suffered martyrdom for her Christian Faith. It is believed that St. Sabina was murdered for the Faith about a month later. The reknowned basilica on the Aventine in Rome is dedicated to and named after her. Some sources hold that Sabina herself had it constructed in the third or fourth century. In an age when our Faith is ridiculed as being outmoded, we take heart in the lives of so many martyrs, like St. Sabina, who gave their lives under terrible conditions to defend and sustain their Faith. This confers on us a strong desire to persevere in God's love.

Continue reading about St. Sabina

Catholic Bishop condemns the mass shooting in Jacksonville

 

Florida Bishop Condemns Racially Motivated Shooting In Jacksonville

(OSV News) — A Florida Catholic bishop condemned a racially motivated shooting that took place late Aug. 26 at a Dollar General store in Jacksonville, saying, “Violence and bigotry have no place in our hearts or our society.”

“A senseless act of violence claimed the lives of three individuals in our community,” Bishop Erik T. Pohlmeier of St. Augustine, Florida, said in a statement shared Aug. 27 with OSV News. 

“It has come to light that the shooter’s motivations were fueled by hatred and bigotry, as he targeted innocent lives solely because of their race,” said Bishop Pohlmeier, whose diocese has its offices in Jacksonville. “This reprehensible act reminds us of the deep-seated wounds that still afflict our society — wounds rooted in prejudice and racism.”

A white gunman, identified by authorities as 21-year-old Ryan Christopher Palmeter, fatally shot three Black people at the Dollar General store in an attack authorities said they were investigating as a racially motivated hate crime. Authorities said he fired 11 rounds at one woman sitting in her car, before he entered the store and shot two more people.

Palmeter was armed with an “AR-15 style” rifle with swastikas on it, as well as a handgun, and was wearing a tactical vest, authorities said. The gunman died after shooting himself. 

Sheriff T.K. Waters of Jacksonville said at a press conference that “this shooting was racially motivated, and he hated Black people,” Waters said, adding there were “several manifestos” by the killer detailing his hatred of Black people.

“The hate that motivated the shooter’s killing spree adds an additional layer of heartbreak,” Waters said.

Bishop Pohlmeier called on Catholics to “pray for the victims and their families during this painful time.”

Monday Saint of the Day; son follows mother

 

St. Augustine of Hippo

St. Augustine of Hippo is the patron of brewers because of his conversion from a former life of loose living, which included parties, entertainment, and worldly ambitions. His complete turnaround and conversion has been an inspiration to many who struggle with a particular vice or habit they long to break.

This famous son of St. Monica was born in Africa and spent many years of his life in wicked living and in false beliefs. Though he was one of the most intelligent men who ever lived and though he had been brought up a Christian, his sins of impurity and his pride darkened his mind so much, that he could not see or understand the Divine Truth anymore. Through the prayers of his holy mother and the marvelous preaching of St. Ambrose, Augustine finally became convinced that Christianity was the one true religion. Yet he did not become a Christian then, because he thought he could never live a pure life. One day, however, he heard about two men who had suddenly been converted on reading the life of St. Antony, and he felt terrible ashamed of himself. "What are we doing?" he cried to his friend Alipius. "Unlearned people are taking Heaven by force, while we, with all our knowledge, are so cowardly that we keep rolling around in the mud of our sins!"

Full of bitter sorrow, Augustine flung himself out into the garden and cried out to God, "How long more, O Lord? Why does not this hour put an end to my sins?" Just then he heard a child singing, "Take up and read!" Thinking that God intended him to hear those words, he picked up the book of the Letters of St. Paul, and read the first passage his gaze fell on. It was just what Augustine needed, for in it, St. Paul says to put away all impurity and to live in imitation of Jesus. That did it! From then on, Augustine began a new life.

He was baptized, became a priest, a bishop, a famous Catholic writer, Founder of religious priests, and one of the greatest saints that ever lived. He became very devout and charitable, too. On the wall of his room he had the following sentence written in large letters: "Here we do not speak evil of anyone." St. Augustine overcame strong heresies, practiced great poverty and supported the poor, preached very often and prayed with great fervor right up until his death. "Too late have I loved You!" he once cried to God, but with his holy life he certainly made up for the sins he committed before his conversion. His feast day is August 28th.

Continue reading about St. Augustine of Hippo